Santa, are you reading this? Here is my list!!!

Dear Santa,

My name is Emerson Roessler, but you may know me as Emmy or Emmy Ems.  I have been a very, very good girl this year.  Need proof?  Well, I got super duper crazy sick a few months back and even though it was really, really hard, I got better.  When I finally woke up, though, after being sick and in a coma for about one month, I was weak, so I have had to work very, very hard and do things I don’t even want to do that doctors and therapists and my mommy and daddy make me do because they tell me it will make me stronger.  I rarely whine or cry when they make me do this stuff.  Plus, I have this itchy, yucky plastic bag on my stomach that is super uncomfortable and my mommy and daddy have to change it all the time, and I really don’t like it, but I am pretty patient and quiet most of the time, especially when they sing to me- which, incidentally is how I learned of you because lately Mommy has been singing me “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” which is where I learned that you bring good kids presents.  Still need more proof that I am a good girl?  Sheesh, you are a tough person to convince.  Okay though.  Here is a list of things I have worked on and learned to do since getting sick:

I can now pull myself up to the standing position.  Yes, I did attempt to use my baby cousin as support tonight, and yes, he did fall down and cry, but most of the time I use more stable objects that don’t cry and this is a really big deal because Mommy and Daddy and my therapists have been trying to make me do it for a couple of weeks now.

I can walk really well holding onto an adult’s one finger.  I can even take a few steps on my own, but I don’t like to.  I am a very careful little girl.   I promise I will walk on my own soon though.

I can drink from my sippy cup by myself, and I get a TON of my daily calories this way because I love to guzzle my milk (well, really it is formula, but I call it milk).

I eat.  I consume most if not all my daily caloric needs, and I now eat more pureed vegetables and meats, which I would not do before.  This all started because my mom asked me to.  When she puts me to sleep each day by cuddling with me on the couch, she tells me who loves me and sometimes gives me goals.  A couple times,  I could tell she was ready to cry when she gave me these goals, so I did my best to meet them, and so far, I haven’t missed one.   At the end of last week, Mommy asked me to please eat more because I am a "Skinny Minnie" and I am having surgery soon, so she wants to fatten me up.  So, I started eating a lot more and I even gained 1.5 lbs.  this week.  Also, she asked me this week for a little laugh so that she knows I am still the funny girl I used to be, so a few times this week, when others were laughing, I mimicked them and laughed, too.  Tonight, I was so happy to get home that I laughed when we walked in. 

I can crawl.  I know, if I can walk, big deal about crawling, right?  Well, it is a big deal, Santa.  I am not trying to be a baby here.  My arms were too weak before, but now I crawl to anything I want, which is great because it sometimes makes Mommy dive across the floor after me and yell “no, no, no!” like when I try to eat the Christmas tree.  Also, crawling requires both sides of the brain and that is good for my cognitive recovery, Santa.

I can clap.  I don’t really do this on demand yet or with music or anything, but I have really gotten into clapping lately, which also requires coordination from both sides of the brain.

I can play with my toys.  For a long time, I was not really interested in toys, but now I explore them all the time.  I especially like my electronic books right now because I can press the buttons to make them talk and sing, and I like to flip them around to the speaker side to figure out how it makes the sound come out of there.  I also just started liking my farm again today. I like to open and close the different farm doors and hear the animals make noise.  I am very good at playing on my own.

So, Santa, as you can see I am a very good girl.  Some would have been cranky about getting sick.  Some would fight their parents or therapists, but not me.  I am working really hard to get better, Santa, so I think you should give me everything on my list.  Here it is:

I want you to make Christmas extra special for all of the doctors and nurses at Loyola who made me all better.  I don’t know them yet, but they are some of the most important people ever, and not just to me, but so many kids.  You need to be extra good to them.  Give them everything they ask for.

I want you to also make Christmas extra special for all of our friends and family.  Give them everything they ask for, too. They have helped so much.  Mommy and Daddy would be starving without the meals delivered, and the special emails and cards and gifts have kept my mommy and daddy so positive, so please make the holidays super wonderful for all of the people who have helped us.

So what about for me, Santa?  Well, I am glad you asked.  I would like a voice.  I know I have a voice, but it is not the same as before.  All I can say is “mama” and “boh boh boh” and “up up up” and “mih” (milk), so if you could help me to learn Dada again that would be a great start.  After that, if I could get those animal sounds back, that would make Mommy and Daddy very happy.  To do that, I need my attention and hearing to improve, so really, I guess, I am asking for that, too. 

I think that is it, Santa.  I hear that you are magic, so I hope you can make these things happen.  I am sorry that I cried on your lap last year, and I am sorry I knocked over my cousin tonight, and I am sorry I threw my milk everywhere today.  Please do not hold these minor infractions against me.  I promise I will be super good in 2012.

XO,

Emmy